CMAs 11-07-07

[sodascouts]

Check it out guys!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcxudMY38ug

More info soon!

[sodascouts]

OK, here we go! What a fun night!

Our night on the town started around 4:00 pm. Dressed the the nines and ready to celebrate, DonFan, dreamer, and I made our way to the venue to see if we could catch the guys going down the red carpet. To our dismay, the red carpet area was almost completely barricaded off and hidden from view. We could see the end of the carpet, the front of the cars, and some movement, but we couldn't identify who it was. Since it was cold and we didn't even know for sure if the Eagles would even walk the carpet, we gave up and went into a local bar to warm up, have some drinks and nachos, and wait to go into the venue.

Then it was time. We headed in to the theater and up to our seats. And we went up... and up... and up... top balcony, far right, far back! At first I was a little bummed - then I noticed that even further right, there was an empty section of the top balcony directly above the stage area. I moved down there and no one seemed to care. My perch allowed me to see directly down onto the stage where they performed, and also even to part of the backstage area.

I watched carefully to catch a glimpse of the guys behind the partitions before they performed, praying they'd be on the stage below me and not the one on the other side. My prayers were answered. After about an hour, I saw some gold drums being moved into place in the shadows as some girl performed on the other stage. I squinted - the guy behind the drums was not Don. I thought "Oh, it must not be them" - then I thought - "Wait, Don likes to be out front now. That could be Crago." Sure enough, that was Crago, and it was the Eagles coming out. It was dark and I couldn't see their faces, but I knew it immediately. I watched them as they got ready to go. Glenn chugged some kid of bottled drink (Gatorade?), Tim shifted from foot to foot and stepped up and back, Joe and Don moved around a bit before finding their places. They looked at each other and whispered a bit as they waited, then fell silent and stood in preparation as the big moment approached. My heart was pounding with excitement. It wouldn't be long now!

And then, as they were introduced and the partition rose to reveal our guys, I could see them in the full light. As you all know from watching the YouTube clip, they looked incredible. I sometimes glanced at the technotron screen to see their faces up close, but mostly looked down at them from above. I loved their outfits - especially the way Glenn's shirt opened at the neck to reveal a little more than usual. Sexy but classy. Nice. Joe looked sleek in his black suit jacket and shirt. Tim appeared to be in a silky black variation of his normal stage outfit - but Tim fans will appreciate that his neck opened even further than Glenn's. Don's hair looked good, although I thought I saw a bit of gray at the temples. Still, it's a much better style and length than during Farewell 1. As always, he looks his best in black.

While at first they seemed nervous and stiff, soon they were getting into it. By "shinin' in the sun", Glenn had gotten his game on. I loved that, after his first verse, he gave this huge grin to Joe, then to Don. He seemed really energetic. I also really liked Glenn's rough-edged vocal. Don also took a little bit to loosen up when singing his verse, but before long he was workin' it, too. All of the notes weren't letter-perfect because this was live, but there was no "OUCH" moments where someone reaches for something and totally misses it. In fact, I think they did a terrific job all around. Our guys done good!

BTW, people have complained about the sound as it came across the TV - well, it was pretty bad in the venue, too - or at least it sounded that way from where I was. Admittedly, there was an echo for us.

They were very well received. You can't hear it on the TV version, but there were cheers throughout. After the initial big cheer when they started, a big cheer came when Glenn started his verse, and another when Don started his. There was also a standing ovation afterwards - the first standing O after a performance (although the prizewinners had gotten them).

Afterwards when the lights and partition went down, I got to watch them once again "off-camera". They seemed pleased and walked off together in an apparently good mood, descending down the steps and out of sight. I was pleased, too. They rocked. I'm so glad I went!

[Mrs Frey]

Wow, Soda, thanks for that review! I tried to picture every moment you described, and felt the excitement with you! I'm so glad you, DF and Dreamer enjoyed yourselves so much. If only the boys knew you were there to support them - they would have been very chuffed!

I haven't watched the YouTube link yet, but I can tell from the picture that Brooke posted (thanks, girlfriend! ) that they looked gorgeous indeed!

FP, I'm so sorry that you're having continuous computer problems - I hope you find a solution soon.

[Brooke]

Oh Soda, that was wonderful! Sounds like you had an amazing time! How cool that you, DonFan, and dreamer got to go to such a special event with the greatest American band of all time!

[tbs fanatic]

Great review. Sounds like you all had fun.

[sodascouts]

Sorry to disappoint on that kissing thing, but we were so far up that by the time we'd have gotten down there, they'd have been leaving the stage!

[Claire]

THANK YOU so much for your review Soda !! It's so great to have more details about how were the guys on this show ! You made my day!

[DonFan]

Well, as Soda said above, the guys rocked and we are SO glad we were able to be there! Some of my thoughts:

The Sommet Center is a huge sports arena in downtown Nashville's "Music Row." There are lots of bars and restaurants nearby, so we nabbed a table by the window at the restaurant across the street to drink and watch throngs of people in their finery walking by. People were dressed in everything from jeans and cowboy hats to beautiful evening gowns. Soda & I got a bag full of "swag" outside on the red carpet--Hank Williams Jr sunglasses, Mary Kay makeup (they were one of the sponsors), a special Country Music edition of People magazine, and a pair of earplugs. ( ? ) When we went inside the venue, they were selling CMA t-shirts and caps, and we all got a CMA program & a poster with pictures of all the nominees, as freebees.

Our seats were way, WAY up in the nosebleed section. Talk about a bird's eye view! You know how they have those huge banks of lights suspended up in the rafters in sports arenas? We looked down on them. There was a huge technotron screen right in front of us so we could see what was broadcast on TV. Watching the show live was a little bit like watching a three ring circus--there were two stages set up below us, and while one performer or group was playing on one stage, another group was setting up behind a partition on the other stage, and of course from our vantage point up above, we could see everything that was going on at all times. We saw the emcees before they came out and we saw them reading off the teleprompter. We saw all the behind the scenes stuff, like the battery of "dressers" arranging Carrie Underwood's billowing gown and fixing her hair & makeup as she was waiting to sing, and we saw someone hug Kellie Pickler after she burst into tears during her performance. Very interesting.

As Soda said, we knew when the guys were about to sing when we saw the gold drum set come out and we saw Joe's blond hair in the darkness. They looked fabulous and the crowd reception was amazing--there were cheers throughout their performance, and a huge standing ovation. I tried to take a couple of pictures which I will post later. The sound in the arena was off, making it difficult to hear not just the Eagles but all the performers, so I was very glad to watch the performance later and actually hear them sing. I thought Timothy did an especially good job trying to sing with his injured throat. I just wished the performance had lasted longer, or they had come back for another number!

Other little bits or interest: as soon as the lights came up for a commercial break, you could see all the stars get up and mill around, talking to each other. Then the announcer would say "30 seconds until we are live," and then "15 seconds," then "5 seconds," and everyone would literally run to their seats. They played old clips from earlier CMA performances on the technotron screens while the commercials were running. The clip of Reba was particularly funny--she had HUGE hair and a big billowing dress that swallowed her. Then Reba came out now, looking sleek and beautiful, so it was quite a change. Watching the Brentwood High School band march down the aisles to sing with Brad Paisley on "Online" was quite a sight. Carrie Underwood was especially pretty, as was Kate Walsh--I loved her Gray's Anatomy so it was fun to see her live. You could've heard a pin drop when Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland sang her song--it was amazing. The duet with Jamie Foxx and the lead singer of Rascal Flatts (whose name just left me) really rocked the house too, although he was apparently having difficulty singing that second song and Jamie kind of carried the whole number.

After the show was over, the stars were whisked away to an after-party across the street hosted by Warner Brothers. We saw Vince Gill walk through the velvet rope, but a huge throng of fans blocked the door after that.

We had a terrific time! I was so proud of our guys--it was a wonderful night!

[timfan]

Sounds like you ladies had a BLAST!!

I have found some more pics from the CMA awards :

[sodascouts]

Very cool - thanks!